South Korea’s sunken Sewol ferry starts final journey
JINDO, South Korea: South Korea’s sunken Sewol ferry was sailed away from its watery grave yesterday, beginning its final journey nearly three years after it went down with the loss of more than 300 lives.
A flotilla of powerful tugs towed the wreck, lying on its side on a platform between two giant salvage barges, towards a semisubmersible that will finally bring it into port.
The 145-metre ship was brought to the surface in a complex salvage operation believed to be among the largest recoveries ever of a wreck in one piece, a key demand of the families of the dead.
“The Sewol began its move towards the semi-submersible at 16:55,” (0755 GMT) the maritime ministry said in a statement.
The rusted, silted hull stood high out of the water, with both its white superstructure and blue bulbous bow exposed as it was taken towards the Dockwise White Marlin, a huge vessel standing by in deeper waters to bring it to Mokpo on the mainland, for investigations and a search.
Almost all the dead were schoolchildren and it is thought that nine bodies still unaccounted for may be trapped inside the sunken ship.
“Today is the last day of the neap tide and we must finish loading the Sewol to the submersible,” Lee Cheol-jo, a ministry official in charge of the operation told reporters earlier, referring to when tides are at their weakest.
Around 450 workers were involved in the painstaking salvage. The Sewol has a displacement of 6,825 tonnes but is now estimated to weigh between 8,000-8,500 tonnes including the silt piled up inside.
It came as the third anniversary approached of one of the country’s worst-ever maritime disasters, which dealt a crushing blow to now-ousted president Park GeunHye.
Several relatives watched the much-anticipated operation unfolding from a boat near the site.
“I had seen footage of the vessel from time to time, but there are no words to describe what I’m feeling to see it above water,” said Jung Seong-Wook, a father who lost his son in the deadly accident.